Mending

Embodied knowledge of simple darning

I have recently recalled the process of mending used by my paternal grandmother to darn holes on socks or pants. The process entails cutting up old pantyhose into thin strips and using them as thread to produce woven-like patches. It was a long time ago since I last witnessed her mending in this way and I don't think I paid much attention to the method itself at that time. I do, however, remember quite vividly how the patches felt to touch and how hefty they were.

I have decided to attempt materialising this method that seems to have survived solely in my memory and which there seem to be no material records of nor was I able to find any information about. I used the opportunity of having recently bought a scarf with multiple holes that I intended to mend to explore this technique.

I ended up cutting up my pantyhose thread significantly thinner than I remember my grandmother doing because of the wispy quality of the scarf, although the patches I created still felt heavier than the white fabric. I was quite interested in the contrast of the two materials that seem very similar in terms of their transparency, but also very different in regards to durability, due to their content. The stretchy fibres in the pantyhose make a very strong thread, while the scarf is very prone to tearing and I find the outcome of this visible mending rather poetic.